We take recycling seriously, which is why in every building across our halls and campuses you’ll find two bins:
- A food waste bin – for leftover food, tea bags, coffee grounds and other wet, biodegradable materials
- A mixed recycling bin – for ALL other dry, non-food waste
Our University is the size of the small town, so we work with a specialist company to recycle as much of our waste as possible.
This company takes all of our waste to a Materials Recycling Facility, where recyclable waste is sorted, bundled and eventually sold. Any non-recyclable waste that’s left over at the end of this process – like crisp packets – is sent to a heat recovery plant to create energy.
What goes wrong? Contamination!
When we put food or liquids in the mixed recycling bins, the whole batch is contaminated and diverted straight to incineration.
So think:
- Dry and free from food = Mixed recycling bin
- Food and wet = Food waste bin
We’re pretty good at this already, but you can help us do even more by placing leftovers in the food waste bin and rinsing other cartons and containers before recycling.
Glass can be recycled, but our cleaning colleagues would always prefer that you take it directly to one of the outside bin compounds. You can find a guide to glass recycling locations on the My Southampton app.
Remember, the best way to reduce waste is to consider what we’re buying in the first place. Consider: Do I need this, could I re-use it and would I be able recycle it afterwards.
Find out more about recycling at the University here.
